THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!

Volunteer Appreciation Week April 19-26

Winnipeg Relay For Life volunteers at Canwest Global Park.



National Volunteer Week pays tribute to the millions of Canadian volunteers who donate their time and energy.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the volunteers of the Canadian Cancer Society Winnipeg Relay For Life for the work they do – helping out, giving back and having fun. From setting up to resgitration to tearing down, our event would not be possible without the time you dedicate to helping out.

If you would like to would like to volunteer again this year, or are a first time volunteer looking to get involved at this year's Relay For Life on May 28, there are still various areas and flexible times for you to volunteer at. Register as a volunteer online at www.cancer.ca/relay.

FUNDRAISE FOR RELAY ON FACEBOOK!

Since most of us already have an existing facebook account, why not let all your facebook friends know about your participation in Relay and give them an opportunity to pledge you?

You never know who may be looking at your facebook profile (hmmm...scary thought), and you might be surprised to see who may donate to you! Who would have thought the guy that used to call you names in grade three has matured and donated $25 towards your fundraising goal?! Must be his way of saying sorry...

Setting up the "widget" to show up on your facebook profile is easy! And, it makes the ability for people to pledge you very convenient. All you need is an existing Relay account (and a facebook account of course).

Follow these 5 easy steps to set the widget up:

STEP 1
Go to www.cancer.ca/relay and login using your name and password. If you haven't already registered, you must do that first, then proceed.

STEP 2
Go to: My participant centre, located at the top left corner once you have logged in.


STEP 3
Scroll down and click on the Fundraise with Facebook logo.
STEP 4
This will now open up your facebook account. (You might have to log in first.) You will have to click on the ALLOW button to allow the widget to appear on your profile.


STEP 5
This will open up a box for Request for Special Permissions. Click on ALLOW once again, and the widget should appear on your profile!

If you have any problems, you might have to try it another way. Visit this link for more information on how to effectively use the online tools: http://convio.cancer.ca/site/DocServer/using_Relay_online_tools_w_template.pdf?docID=3148

DID YOU KNOW...

That there is a section called Participant Resources that has lots of information and resources to help you? Even if you already knwo what you are doing, have a look, there are fundraising ideas, information for team captains, regsitration forms and donation forms that you can print out! You can find the link on the left hand menu, under Get Information. Check it out!

TAKING A BITE OUT OF CANCER

Cupcake Fundraiser a success!

On the morning of April 14, the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) teamed up with Winnipeg Relay For Life sponsors Curve 94.3 and The Cupcake Corner for a delicious fundraiser! Curve’s Jay and Andrea from the morning show, CCS staff, volunteers, and Relay for Life committee members stood on the windy corner of Confusion Corner during the morning rush hour and sold 500 dozen cupcakes. That’s 6,000 cupcakes!

Each dozen sold for $15, with $7 from each sale going directly towards Relay For Life, bringing us $3500 closer towards our goal!

The success of this event would not have been possible without the support we received from our wonderful sponsors and volunteers!

We would like to thank the following:

The Cupcake Corner for initiating the idea and for the long hours spent making the cupcakes

Curve 94.3 for bringing in their energetic team to assist and for airing live on location from the sale. They also donated reusable bags to give away.

Winnipeg Free Press for providing free copies of their newspaper to all the supporters

MB Pork for donating stress pigs that went in the goody bags.

MB Lotteries for donating tents.

Cornelia Bean for donating the tea

All the CCS staff and volunteers who helped out!

Donate your hair to make wigs for women who have lost their hair due to treatment

We often have people ask us how to donate their hair for wigs for cancer patients. Here are two great programs that allow you to donate your locks to be made into wigs for women who experience hair loss during cancer treatments.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

A real-hair wig allows a woman to look in the mirror and at least see a familiar face while she fights to regain a sense of normalcy in her life.The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) is pleased to distribute the Pantene Beautiful Lengths real-hair wigs. While this new program aims to assist as many cancer patients as possible, ultimately the number of free wigs that become available will depend entirely on the number of ponytail donations received.

Creating a real-hair wig takes approximately three to four months, and each wig requires at least six ponytails to make.As Pantene Beautiful Lengths wigs are created, they are distributed for free through the Canadian Cancer Society’s national network of community offices. Women facing cancer can find out about the availability of a Pantene Beautiful Lengths wig by calling the Canadian Cancer Society at 1 888-939-3333. The Society’s toll free line can also provide callers with access to many resources, including information about cancer and emotional support for those dealing with the disease. Pantene is also donating $100,000 to CCS this year.



Click on this link to find out more about the proagram and the requirements and directions for donating your hair. http://www.pantene.com/en-CA/article/requirements_for_donating.jspx



La Petite Couette” – “The Little Hairpiece


Evelyn Valcourt, owner/manager of Evelyn’s Wig Sales & Service, along with the help of her granddaughter, Stephanie, accepts hair donations for the purpose of making wigs in order to help children and young adults undergoing hair loss from cancer treatments or Alopecia Areata. Evelyn’s is the only Manitoba business working closely with Manitoba hairstylists for this worthy cause.

To find out more, visit their website at: http://www.evelynswigs.com/donate.htm
 

CUPCAKES IN SUPPORT OF RELAY FOR LIFE!

Tomorrow morning, April 14, motorists in Winnipeg can have their cake and eat it too! Well, their cupcakes anyways.

Winnipeg Relay For Life sponsors Curve 94.3, and The Cupcake Corner will be at Confusion Corner (230 Osborne Street, Dollarama parking lot) between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. selling dozens of cupcakes, all in support of the Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life!

Staff from the radio station, Canadian Cancer Society volunteeers and Relay committee members will be on hand delivering the cupackes directly to your car. A dozen mini cupcakes will sell for $15, $7 of which will go directly towads this year's Relay For Life! Cornelia Bean will also be there providing complimentary coffee and the Winnipeg Free Press will be handing out copies of their newspaper.

Stop by to get your sugar fix and support Relay For Life at the same time!

How Terry Fox changed Canada

Today is the is the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Marathon of Hope, read how Terry Fox changed Canada; With comments from Vice-President of the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, Michael Wosnick.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/793452--how-terry-fox-changed-canada?bn=1

The countdown begins!

As of today, there are only seven weeks left until the Winnipeg Relay For Life! That may sound like a long way to go, but this time of year tends to go by faster then we notice!

The spring brings with the the end of the fiscal year, making it a busy time of year at work for many people. The warmer weather brings with it sports practices as we come to the beginning of a new sports season. People start training for marathons, gardening season begins, and evening walks are enjoyed by many. With it being such an enjoyable time of year, some of you may forget that Relay For Life is now less than two months away!

For those of you who are still registering teams, getting new members signed up and fundraising, take a moment to think about how you can tie in your spring acitvities with your Relay For Life fundraising.

We already have a few teams share their fundraising ideas with us. Here are a few suggestions:

- have a bbq lunch at work
- contact your local Sobey's, Safeways, & Wal-Marts to set up a hot dog sale outside their stores on a weekend
- have a garage/yard sale. Get your spring clenaing and fundraising done in one shot!
- have a ice cream sundae sale at work. Buy the ice cream and toppings, pick a warm day to set up your make-your-own sundae station at work for a minimum donation
- have a car wash
- have a sports tournament


So get your team together and plan a fundraiser for sometime in the next seven weeks! Because before you know it, it will be May 28th!